Electric sign



July 14, 1931'. E. a. GODDARD 1,814,379

ELECTRIC sum Filed Feb. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 14, 1931. E. G.GODDARD ELECTRIC SIGN Filed Feb. 20, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 I I01111111111111111111WMA 1111I111111111171A2111/111Z471/11/11Z1/1,11111111 7191/11 a M m. D A

Patented July 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWIN G. GODDARD, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FLASHTRIC SIGN WORKS, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, PARKER AND HARRY S. PARKER A OOPAR'INERSHIP COMPOSEDOF FRED I ELECTRIC SIGN Application filed February 20, 1928. Serial No.255,589.

Due to the fact that electric currents of very high voltage are requiredto illuminate neon and other gas filled tubes employed for signcharacters in electric signs, the practice rheretofore has been to useheavily insulated wires or cables for the highvoltage current. Thesewires or cables have been mounted in the body of the sign on insulatorsrelatively close to the metal framework and panels of 1 the signstructure. The insulation about these wires comprises a relatively thickcasing of rubber or other insulating material which gives the cables alarge outside diameter from one-half to one inch. This brings the outersurface of the cables close to the adjacent metal of the sign body asthe cables extend from one insulatorto another. The

1 heavy insulation, due to the high tension current passing through thecables, in time doteriorates sufficiently to break down and allows forshort-circuiting between the cables and the metal of the sign bodyproducing'an arc and setting fire to the insulation.- The above iscaused directly by the corona or 95 static discharges taking effect,which are known to defeat the purposes of any insulation used for thispurpose. In the majority of signs there is sufiicient h1 h tension cableused to produce an intense re which would destroy. the entire sign andendanger the building on which the sign is mounted.

In the sign constructions heretofore made there are no positive meansfor cutting ofi the current to the signs when the are opened forinspection or repair. There ore it is possible that a workman repairingthe sign is subject to a shock from the high tension cables ortransformer on reaching inor entering the live sign. Although a shockmay not be fatal in itself, it may cause the workman receiving it tofall from the sign andbe badly if not fatally hurt.

, In accordance with my invention, I. eliminate the shock hazard fromthe sign structure by providing at each of the inspection doors a switchmechanism which on the door being 0 enedwill immediately break thecircuit in t e si and render it dead, thereby allowing awor an to reachin or enter the sign without any chance of receiving a shock. Theprimary circuit for the sign is in series with all of the door switches,so that when any door is opened the circuit is immediately broken andthus all current supply to the sign cut off and the sign rendered dead.On shutting the doors, the primary circuit is restoredso that the signwill be in condition to function. These door switches are used for thecomplete protection of those who repair and service these signs andshould not be misconstrued as the service switches which control theordinary operation of the signs.

In accordance with my invention, I. employ heavily glazed porcelaininsulators for mounting the high tension wires in the sign, and by theseinsulators so space the wires from the metal frame and anels of the signand other circuits therein t at the air spaces between the wires and themetal sign structure are amply sufficient to insulate the high voltageused in' these wires, and thus avoid the necessity of any insulatingcoverings about the wires as heretofore. Thus bare high tension wiresmay be employed in the sign body with the complete elimination of 75fire hazard, heretofore mentioned, because of the complete avoidance ofall combustible materials.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described andclaimed.

In'the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a front view ofan electric gastube sign embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the sign;

Fig. 3 is a vertical'sectional view taken through the same on line 3-3of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4' is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, withthe switch parts in elevation and the'door being shown partly open;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the indirect line 6-6 ofFig. 3; V

Fig. 7 is a sectional view. taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a, view'showin the split flexible disc through which one o theelectrodes of no the tube exten ls.

In the drawings, I have shown a double face sign, in which 1, 1 are itsfront faces, and '2, 2 the several neon or other gas filled tubes whichmake the letters or characters of the sign. The front faces 1, 1 areusually of metal panels, spaced apart with an intervening wall structurewhich with the front panels make a hollow sign body or housing tocontain the wiring and other mechanism necessary to operate the sign.The wall structure mentioned has top and bottom sections 3, 4 and endsections 5, 5.

In order that access maybe had into the sign body at any time, as forthe purpose of inspection or repair, the end sections 5, 5 are eachprovided with an opening 6 normally closed by a door 7, which is locatedon the outside of the section and preferably hinged at its lower edge sothat the door on being opened will swing outwardly and downwardly. Afastener 8 is turnably mounted on each wall 5 above the upper edge 3fits door for locking and unlocking the oor.

Secured to the inside of each door 7 is a porcelain plug 9, whichcarries a pair of electric contact prongs 10, 10. These enter suitablesockets in a porcelain receptacle 11 carried by a bracket 12 extendingacross the door opening 6 on the inner side of the wall 5 and bolted orotherwise secured to the wall on opposite sides of the opening, as shownFig. 4;.

'The electrode assemblies 13 for each si 11 character 2 are at theopposite ends of t e glass tubing which forms the character.

ne of the assemblies is shown in Fig. 6, and there it will be seen thatthe end portion of the tubing is bent at right-angles to the body of thetubing and is enlarged in the form of a bulb. about which is a suitablyformed and supported glass receptacle. This assembly extends into theinterior of the sign body through the adjacent sign facing 1, the latterhaving a hole 14 cut therein of a size to permit the assembly to bereadily inserted through the hole. The latter is made fairly large sothat the assembly may be inserted through without chance of breakage andalso, to take care of an assembly which may be off center or not atright-angles to the main portion of the tube. To close this opening sothat it will not appear unsightly on the front face of the sign, Iprovide a flexible rubber disc-15, which is slit at one side from itsouter edge to its center so that the disc may be applied about the tubeand hug the same just beyond the bulb assembly, as shown in Fig. 6. Thedisc has a channel 15 in its outer edge to receive the edge of theopening 14 and thus support the disc in the opening without the use ofbolts or other fasteners.- The disc 15 not only closes this opening sothat rain, snow, sleet, etc., may not enter the sign body, but alsoproman from inserting a tool or rod into the sign through the opening tocontact with the high tension wires which are in the sign bodyandconnected with the bulbs.

In Fig. 3 will be seen the electrode ends 13 which extend into the signbody from the several tubes 2 on one face of the sign. Located inthesign body and preferably supported on the bottom wall 4 thereof, is atransformer 16 of any preferred construction and having high tensionterminals 17, 18. A high tension wire 19 leads from the terminal 17 toone of the electrodes of the first letter E of the sign. A high tensionwire 20 connects the other electrode of said letter with.

the adjacent electrodev of the second letter A. A high tension wire 21connects the other electrode of the letter A with the adjacent electrodeof the third letter T, and a high tension wire 22 connects the otherelectrode of the. letter T. with the other high tension terminal 18 ofthe. transformer, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby completing the hightension or secondary circuit of the sign wiring. The high tension wires19 to 22 are bare, in that they are not covered with any insulatingmaterial. Said wires are supported from-the adjacent walls of the signstructure by a number ofglazed high tension porcelain insulators 23, 23.These are secured to suitable brackets 24, which are bolted or otherwisetightly secured to a metal part of the sign structure, as shown in Fig.6. The

bare or uncovered high tension wires extend through openings orapertures in the insulators 23 and are looped about them to hold thewires thereon.

In practice, the high tension wires are connected to the stiff terminals25 of the electrodes at the bulb ends of the tube letters by flexiblewire connections 26, as shown in Fig. 6. These wire connections areusually wrapped around and aresoldered to the high tension wires at oneend and carry clips 27 at their other ends for connection with theterminals 25, as -shown.

Leading into the sign body adjacent the transformer 16 are two insulatedwires 28, 29, as shown in Fig. 3. The wire 28 is on the live side of thecircuit and leads to one of the sockets in the poreclain receptacle 11at the adjacent door 7. The wire 29 is on the ground side of the circuitand leads to one of the terminals 30 of the transformer 16. An'insulatedwire 31 connects the other socket of the receptacle 11 with one of thesockets in the receptacle 11 at the other door of the sign. An insulatedwire 32 leads from the other socket of the last mentioned receptacle 11to the terminal 33 of the transformer, as shown in Fig. 3. The wiringjust described constitutes the primary circuit of the sign and suppliesthereto an electric current from an voltage of this circuit is steppedup to that required for the tube letters 2 throu h the transformer 16,as in the operation 0 of the character described.

When both doors 7 of the sign are closed, the switches 9-11 at each doorare closed, and current is supplied to the sign for illuminating it whenthe service switch in or on the building on which the sign is mounted orhung is turned on. When either door is opened, the primary circuit isbroken, and, as a result no current flows to the sign through eithercircuit and both circuits are therefore dead; This takes effectautomatically on the opening of either door, and, as the switch members9-11 on each door are half way up the door, these switch members will beseparated before the door is opened far enough to permit access to behad into the sign. Thus, when a workman opens the sign for repairs orfor examining any of the parts within the sign, the current to the signis immediately cut off and the workman can not receive a shock from eventhe bare or uncovered high tension wires in the sign, due to the factthat there is no current flowing through them. The workman may therefore'freel work about the sign without any chance 0 receiving an electricshock. Moreover, as the high tension wires are bare or uncovered, thereis no fire hazard because there is no insulating or other material aboutthe wires to take fire, and moreover the wires are supported far enoughaway from the metal walls of the sign body so'that no opportunity isafforded for short-circuiting.

Large signs are usually made in sections with a multiplicity of lettersin each section. The doors for each section would be provided withseparable switches 9-11, and these would be wired together so that thecircuits of the various sections would be immediately broken on theopening of a door of any section. In the drawings, I have shown a doubleface sign. My invention is also applicable to single face or othersigns.

The details of structure and arrangement of parts described and shownmay be variously changed and modified without departing from the spiritand scope of my inven-' tion.

I claim as my invention:

1. An electric sign having a casing with a front wall, a gas filled tubemounted on the signs a hollow casing forming the body of the sign, oneor more gas filled tube characters supported by the casing in positionfor display thereon, primary and secondary circuits for carrying thecommercial lighting-and high tension currents, respectively, for thecharacters, a transformer connecting said circuits for stepping up thelow voltage of the primary'circuit to the high voltage required for thesecondary circuit to illuminate the tube characters in the operation ofthe sign, saidtransformer and circuits being located within the casingand exposed for access through either one of a number of openings in theouter wall of the casing, closures, one for each ofisaid openings, andswitch means, one for each of said closures, said switch means beingconnected in series in the primary circuit for automatically breakingboth circuits on opening either closure to render the sign inoperativeand shock-proof when either closure is open, said switch meansautomatically re-establishing both circuits to condition the sign foroperation on the closing of all closures.

3. An electric sign of the luminescent gas filled tube type, comprisingin combination a hollow casing forming the body of the sign, one or moregasfilled tube characters supported by the casing in position fordisplay thereon, primary and secondary circuits for the tube characters,a transformer through vwhich the circuits are connected for stepping upthe low voltage of the primary circuit to the high voltage required forthe secondary circuit to illuminate the characters, said transformer andcircuits being located in the casing and exposed for access through a.

EDWIN G. GO DARD.

casing in front of said wall and having electrode assemblies in itsends, said wall having openings to permit the assemblies to be readilyand easily inserted thercthrough, flexible covers for the openings, saidcovers being slitted-so as to be applied about the tubes adjacent saidassemblies and hung about the tubes'just beyond the same, and means forholding the covers at the openings.

2. An electric sign of the luminescent gas filled tube type, comprisingin combination

